How to Turn Your Favorite Web App Into a Native Mac App

When you talk about the web services available out there for you to use, you simply cannot count them on your fingers. There are millions of them. What most of these services lack is a native app for some of the popular OS platforms. While they can be enjoyed through a web browser, most people would prefer having an app that they can click on and get the required content on their screen. If you are a Mac user, you now have a way to turn your favorite web apps into native Mac apps. The procedure to do so is pretty straightforward and you should be done in no time.

In order to turn a web app into a Mac app, you are going to be using an app called Fluid. The app makes everything darn easier: you enter the URL, click OK, and the app is ready for you to use.

Turning Web Apps into Native Mac Apps

While it is not possible to cover how you can create Mac apps for all the web services available out there, I will be using Google Tasks as an example for you to understand the whole process. Once you get it done, you will not have any issues doing the same for any other web app you would like to turn to a Mac app.

2. Once the app has been downloaded, double-click on it and it will launch.

3. The first screen of the app has got a couple of options that you are required to fill in. Here’s what you need to enter in those boxes:

URL – Enter the URL of the web app you want to turn into a Mac app.

Name – Enter the name for your new app. It could be anything of your choice.

Location – Choose the “Applications” folder.

Icon – Choose an icon for your app. It will use the web app icon, by default.

As an example, I have filled-in details for the Google Tasks web app, and my screen looks like the following.

4. When you are done filling in the fields, simply click on the button that says “Create.” It will build the app for you.

5. When the app has been created, you will see a success message on your screen that looks like the following. You can click the “Launch Now” button to launch your newly created app.

6. The app will open like any other app on your Mac and you will have all the controls, like, Minimize, Maximize and Close for the app.

7. You are all done.

Congratulations! Your web app has now been converted into a native Mac app that you can use just like any other app.

The example above only teaches how you can use the Google Tasks web app with Fluid. If you are interested in creating more of these apps, simply find their URLs and put them in Fluid and your desired app will be ready in no time.

Conclusion

Using multiple web apps simultaneously in a tabbed browser is not one of the coolest things you can do. Nothing is better than using them in your very own Mac environment where every app is treated the same, unlike the web apps you use in your web browser.